The CDS said the Armed Forces would make Nigerians the focus of activities to truly put them at the centre of its actions towards promoting and safeguarding a secure environment for all.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Christopher Musa, and the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Taoreed Lagbaja, have shared their plans at tackling the insecurity facing the country, saying the state of insecurity was “a painful reality.”
The CDS said the Armed Forces would make Nigerians the focus of activities to truly put them at the centre of its actions towards promoting and safeguarding a secure environment for all.
He equally said his leadership concept would be built on three pillars — being people-centric, prioritising troops’ welfare and deepening jointness and inter-agency collaboration.
The CDS stated these when he appeared for screening before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee on screening of service chiefs.
It would be recalled that the Senate had last week, screened the service chiefs and other security heads appointed by President Bola Tinubu last month.
He said: “I recognise the significance of leading the thousands of devoted and distinguished service men and women to provide a secure and peaceful environment for Nigerian people to freely engage in their legitimate enterprise, in line with the constitutional mandate of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, AFN.
“In this regard, the AFN under my leadership will be people-centric by prioritizing and safeguarding our people and their legitimate way of life as prescribed by the Nigerian constitution.’’
On welfare of troops, Musa said troops’ welfare and sound administration would provide the required atmosphere for the AFN to deliver on its constitutional responsibilities.
“I shall also promote international military cooperation/collaboration to further expose and provide capacity building to AFN personnel in joint and combined operations outside the shores of Nigeria.
“This measure is required to consolidate on AFN welfare priorities in order to effectively deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars by providing ready, prompt and sustained land, sea and air dominance by the AFN across traditional as well as asymmetric conflict settings as part of a joint force,” he said.
Speaking also at the screening, the Chief of Army Staff, Lagbaja, said the Nigeria Army remains the most misunderstood, complex and challenged component of the Nigeria Armed Forces.
According to him, security challenges in the last two decades have made governance more challenging, and that it has disrupted developmental progress in the country.
Lagbaja said: “I consider my nomination as a call to higher responsibilities and I am determined not to betray the trust and confidence reposed in me.
‘’It is an open secret that our country has faced a challenging security environment in the past two decades. It has impacted adversely on our socio-economic and political lives.
“The episodic crises of the past have now become enduring, thereby making governance and the rule of law more challenging for successive administrations.
“Today’s painful reality is that insecurity has distressed our developmental plans and aspirations for a strong, prosperous, globally competitive and influential nation.
‘’Never in recent time is the requirement for proactive, adaptive and inclusive leadership more needed than Nigeria’s security environment of today.”